Our print publications are advertiser supported. For those wishing to access our content online, we have implemented a small charge so we may continue to provide our valued readers and community with unique, high quality local content. Thank you for supporting your local newspaper.

Whatever the weather, Norse fest is coming

Recommendations for your upcoming week

So far this year, Ullr, the Norse god of winter, seems to mostly have skipped over Colorado. But hopefully the fourth annual UllrGrass festival in Golden will bring the god’s attention back to us.

UllrGrass is a three-day music and beer festival that is hosted in Parfet Park, located at 10th Street and Washington Avenue, and New Terrain Brewing Co., 16401 Table Mountain Parkway, from Jan. 26-28.

The festival is produced by Coral Creek Music and benefits music education in the Golden community through the Coral Creek Music Project. This year’s lineup includes members of Railroad Earth, Leftover Salmon, the Lyle Lovett Band, Hot Rize and more.

UllrGrass goes beyond offering only music to attendees — craft breweries and cideries will be on hand, as well local vendors and food trucks, and there are even activities for children, like an UllrEgg hunt, scavenger hunt, face-painting and more.

The Performance Round of this year’s UllrGrass Band Contest takes place at 6 p.m. on Jan. 18 at New Terrain Brewing Co. There are eight finalists, and each will perform a three-song set. The winner of the Performance Round will perform on the mainstage at UllrGrass 2019. The Performance Round is free and open to the public.

Seeing as the event is named in honor of winter, the festival will be hosted come snow or shine, so prepare layers to stay warm. Ullr devotees have been known to show up in Viking garb — helmets, drinking horns and leather chest plates — whatever you need to summon the spirit of Ullr. And because Ullr is also the Patron Saint of Skiers, don’t be afraid to put your ski pants on.

Tickets for the music festival can be purchased as a weekend pass or single-day pass. VIP tickets are also available. Beer festival tickets can be purchased as a supplemental ticket, as a package with a weekend pass or Saturday single-day ticket, or for the beer festival only. To learn more, visit www.ullrgrass.com.

These are rare and one-off barrel aged beers that will appeal to anyone interested in seeing how barrel aging and the type of barrels can affect the taste of a beer.

Go to www.coloradoplus.net for all the details.

Honoring Tom Petty with local bar bands

The sudden death of rock legend Tom Petty last year was one of the hardest losses in a year full of great talents going out. Petty was responsible of some all-time great songs, including “Free Fallin’,” “American Girl” and “Learning to Fly,” and by all accounts was an extraordinarily decent man.

Thankfully, his music lives on, and local bands like The Humbuckers, 3 Star Monday, Last Rhino and special guests Tompettyproject and Adrienne Osborn will be playing it at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, during the Tom Petty Tribute Night at @ Cheers, 11964 Washington St. in Northglenn.

For all the details on the celebration, go to www.facebook.com/atCheers.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week — Passion Pit at the Ogden

Passion Pit, which is the brainchild of frontman and produccer Michael Angelakos, has been one of the most fun electro-pop bands since their 2009 debut, “Manners,” first hit the scene.

In the ensuing years, Passion Pit has developed an ardent fan base, and 2017’s independent release, “Tremendous Sea of Love,” showed musicians eager to explore and experiment with the more familiar elements of electronic music.

Now Passion Pit will be performing at 8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, at the Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., in Denver as part of their first tour since 2016. Joining Angelakos in the Passion Pit live band will be Chris Hartz, Aaron Harrison Folb and Giuliano Pizzulo, and opener courtship.

To score tickets, visit www.ogdentheatre.com.

Music for a good cause at Good Shepherd

Centennial’s Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 8545 E. Dry Creek Road, is looking to start 2018 off by hosting quality concerts that benefit good causes with its third Music with a Mission Concert Series.

The series is made up of five free concerts, which raise money for different causes. In its first two seasons, the series has generated over $20,000 for both local, national and international mission organizations.

There are three performances left in the series — the Forte Handbell Quartet, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 19, to benefit Covenant Cupboard Food Pantry; the Hummin’birds bluegrass group at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16, to benefit Heifer International; and Juice O’ The Barley, playing Irish pub music, at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 23, to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Based in Colorado Springs, Forté is a nationally recognized handbell quartet that performs a blend of Celtic, techno, pop-country, classical, and new age.

For more information, visit www.gshep.org.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. A community editor with Colorado Community Media, he can be reached creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com.